''Dreadnought''
[The 'HMS' prefix was not used until the middle of the 18th century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively] was a 41-gun
galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal.
They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
of the
Tudor navy
The Tudor navy was the navy of the Kingdom of England under the ruling Tudor dynasty (1485–1603). The period involved important and critical changes that led to the establishment of a permanent navy and laid the foundations for the future Roy ...
, built by
Mathew Baker Matthew or Matt Baker may refer to:
Entertainment
* Matt Baker (artist) (1921–1959), American comic book artist
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* Matthew Baker (bass-baritone), Australian bass-baritone opera singer
* S ...
and launched in 1573. Like
HMS ''Dreadnought'' of 1906, she was a radical innovation over contemporary ships. When
John Hawkins became
Treasurer of the Navy
The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...
in 1577, he had sailed all over the world, and his ideas contributed to the production of a new
race-built
The race-built galleon was a type of war ship built in England from 1570 until about 1590. Queen's ships built in England by Sir John Hawkins and his shipbuilders, Richard Chapman, Peter Pett and Mathew Baker from 1570 were galleons of a "race- ...
series of galleons—of which ''Dreadnought'' was the second, following
''Foresight'' of 1570—without the high
forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...
and
aftcastle
The aftercastle (or sterncastle, sometimes aftcastle) is the stern structure behind the mizzenmast and above the transom on large sailing ships, such as carracks, caravels, galleons and galleasses. It usually houses the captain's cabin and per ...
prevalent in earlier galleons. These "marvels of marine design" could reputedly "run circles around the clumsier Spanish competition."
''Dreadnought'' took part in many of the naval engagements between Britain and Spain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Under Captain
Thomas Fenner, she was part of Drake's fleet which "singed the King of Spain's Beard" with the
raid on Cadiz in Spring 1587.
Under
George Beeston
Sir George Beeston or Beston (circa 1520 - 13 September 1601[Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...]
in 1588. She was rebuilt for the first time in 1592. In 1596, with Sir Alexander Clifford as her captain, she was part of the Anglo-Dutch fleet which
captured Cadiz.
In 1599 she was in the Western Channel under George Fenner, while in 1601 under Sir Henry Palmer she was on the Thames.
On 2 June 1602, captained by Edward Manwaring, ''Dreadnought'' was part of
Ricard Leveson's fleet which succeeded
in capturing the Portuguese carrack ''
Sao Valentinho'' at
Cezimbra Roads[N.A.M. Rodger, ''The Safeguard of the Sea'', p. 292.] In 1603, as hostilities with Spain concluded, she was in the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
under captain Hamphrey Reynolds.
''Dreadnought'' was rebuilt again at
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
in 1614 as a
middling ship
In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker).
Rating
When the rating system was firs ...
of 32 guns.
In 1625, with renewed hostilities against Spain, ''Dreadnought'' took part in yet another
expedition to Cadiz, this time under a captain named Plumleigh, as part of a fleet commanded by
Viscount Wimbledon
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty.
In the case of French viscounts, the title is so ...
.
In 1628 she took part in the unsuccessful attempt to relieve the
Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...
by sea.
In 1637, she was part of the
Earl of Northumberland's fleet in the North Sea, commanded by Captain Henry Stradling and then by Thomas Kirke.
''Dreadnought'' was broken up in 1648.
Notes
Citations
References
*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .
*Rodger, N.A.M (2004) ''The Safeguard of the Sea'' Penguin History.
*Winfield, Rif (2009) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreadnought (1573)
Ships of the English navy
16th-century ships
Ships built in Deptford